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Though I have posted so many bakes on my blog, I realized that I haven't posted the basic Chocolate Chip Cookies. In fact, I have even posted a vegan version of the chocolate chip cookies, but somehow missed these simple cookies. This is an eggless version, I have used curd/yoghurt instead and the cookies came out perfect..Need To Have

All Purpose Flour/Maida - 3/4 cup

Butter - 1/4 cup

Granulated Sugar - 1/4 cup

Light Brown Sugar - 1/4 cup

Vanilla Extract - 1/2 teaspoon

Curd/Yogurt - 2 tablespoons

Baking Soda - 1/4 teaspoon

Salt - 1/8 teaspoon

Semi Sweet Chocolate Chips - 1/2 cup

Method

Beat together melted butter and both the sugars. Add the vanilla extract, yogurt and mix.

Sift the flour, baking soda and salt and add it to the wet ingredients. Now add the chocolate chips and mix everything together and refrigerator for about an hour.

After an hour, make small lemon size balls, flatten them a little and arrange them on a baking sheet, leaving a little space between the balls. Bake them at 175 C for about 17 to 20 minutes. Remove the baking sheet from the oven, let it cool a bit, then remove the cookies, cool them completely and store.

NoteI have used only all purpose flour, but you can replace half of it with whole wheat flour or even try using just whole wheat flour only.Layer the baking sheet with aluminium foil, easy to remove the cookies and easy to clean too.

Some of you might not like Sweet Chutney with chats or samosas, but at home, we all like both the green chutney and sweet chutney with our chats. We use soft dates ( I had some imported ones ) and tamarind for making this chutney and it's an easy recipe. It's a must for most chat dishes and can be served with cutlets, samosas and savory rolls too and keeps well in the refrigerator for a couple of weeks or can be stored in the freezer for a couple of months..Need To Have

Seeded Dates - about 8 big ones

Tamarind - lime sized ball

Black Salt - 1/4 teaspoon

Roasted Cumin Powder - 1/4 teaspoon

Coriander Powder - 1/4 teaspoon

Red Chilly Powder - 1/4 teaspoon

Jaggery - 1 teaspoon

Method

Pressure cook the dates and tamarind along with a cup of water for a whistle or two, the dates should have become soft. Cool the dates mixture and strain the water.

Then grind the dates and tamarind into a smooth paste. Add the water to the paste and strain the mixture.

Place the strained mixture on the stove, add the black salt, cumin powder, coriander powder, chilly powder and jaggery. Mix and cook for 8 to 10 minutes on medium heat, keep stirring in between. Remove the chutney, cool and store.

NoteSoft dates will be good for this chutney, the chutney should taste sweet, with a slight hint of spice.The chutney should have a thin jam/jelly like consistency.

Pongal ( both sweet and spicy ) is a favorite at home. As much as we like ven pongal with sambar and chutney, I like it much better when I serve it with this Onion and Tomato Gothsu. Since there is no dal/lentils in this Gothsu, you don't end up feeling heavy after eating pongal with it. It's very light and the slight sourness from the tomatoes goes very well with Ven Pongal, do try this Gothsu, the next time you make Ven Pongal, of course this goes very well with idlis and dosas too..Need To Have

Onion - 3 medium, chopped

Tomatoes - 3 medium

Urad Dal/Husked Black Gram - 2 teaspoons

Mustard Seeds - 1/4 teaspoon

Fenugreek Seeds - 1/4 teaspoon

Asafoetida - 1/4 teaspoon

Green Chilly - 1, slit

Ginger - 1" piece, chopped finely

Curry Leaves - 10 - 15

Turmeric Powder - 1/4 teaspoon

Sambar Powder - 3 teaspoons

Coriander Powder - 1/2 teaspoon

Cumin Powder - 1/4 teaspoon

Chopped Coriander Leaves - 1/4 cup

Method

Chop and grind 2 tomatoes and keep.

Heat some oil, add the urad dal, mustard seeds, when it starts sputtering, add the fenugreek seeds and asafoetida followed by the chopped onions, curry leaves, green chilly and ginger. Saute it well till the onions turn pink, then add the remaining one tomato ( chopped ) and saute till it turns mushy.

Then add the ground tomatoes, turmeric powder, sambar powder, coriander powder and cumin powder. Mix for a minute, then add 2 cups of water, salt, cover and cook on medium heat for about 7 to 10 minutes. Then garnish with the chopped coriander and serve.

NoteUse good ripe tomatoes.I use homemade fresh coriander powder, this has a nice flavor than the store bought one.

I had first tasted Vada Pav in the US only, the vada was served between the bun with some sweet chutney and spicy green chutney. Only later, did I come to know that it's served traditionally with this dry garlic chutney and fried green chilly. Now in Bangalore, I see so many versions of the Vada Pav, but I still prefer the classic one, with just the garlic chutney and green chilly, of course I don't mind the sweet chutney and spicy green chutney, but the garlic chutney is a must. So when I made Vada Pav ( will be posting it soon ) at home, I made this Dry Garlic Chutney, it's very easy to make, the main ingredients are garlic, coconut and peanuts and it gives a wonderful flavor and taste to the Vada Pav..Need To HaveChopped Garlic - 3 tablespoonsRaw Peanuts - 2 teaspoonsGrated Coconut - 1 tablespoonCoriander Seeds - 1/2 teaspoonKashmiri Chilly Powder - 3/4 teaspoonSalt - 1/4 teaspoon

Usually when I made raitha at home, it's mostly with cucumber or sometimes with carrots or beets or even with just onions, this is the first time I tried out with pineapple. I knew that pineapple and yogurt go well together, but what made the raitha more interesting was the walnuts. I actually made the raitha with only half a pineapple, but we just loved it so much, that I ended up making it with the remaining half too, do try this if you like pineapple..Need To Have

Pineapple - 1/2 cup, chopped

Yogurt/Curd - 1/2 cup

Honey - 1 teaspoon

Toasted And Chopped Walnuts - 2 tablespoons

Chopped Coriander - 1 tablespoon

Black Pepper Powder - 1/4 teaspoon

Salt to taste

Method

Add the honey, salt and pepper powder to the yogurt and mix it well.

Now add the chopped pineapple, walnuts and chopped coriander and mix. That's it, enjoy it with any pilaf or paratha, or just have it by itself.

Wishing all of you a Very Happy New Year, back to blogging after almost a month. It's been a long time, since I had made anything special, in fact, this past month, I haven't even cooked that much. Today's post, Chettinad Poondu Kuzhambu, is something that I had made couple of months back. I had tasted this Poondu Kuzhambu in a restaurant as a side for soft dosas, it tastes spicy, tangy and sweet at the same time and goes very well with both rice and idlis and dosas too. I already have a recipe for Garlic Gravy on my blog, but this one is a little different from that one. I followed the recipe from here, made a few changes and left out the coconut. This would go well with Paniyarams too, in fact we had it with rice in the afternoon and I served it as a side dish for Paniyarams in the evening for dinner, do give it a try, you'll love it..Need To Have

Garlic - 2 whole bulbs, peeled

Onion - 1 medium, chopped

Curry Leaves - 20

Tamarind - lime sized ball

Turmeric Powder - 1/2 teaspoon

Coriander Powder - 2 teaspoons

Jaggery Powder - 2 tablespoons

Urad Dal/Husked Black Gram - 1 teaspoon

Mustard Seeds - 1/2 teaspoon

To Grind

Garlic - 8 cloves, peeled

Onion - 1 medium, chopped

Tomatoes - 2 small, tangy ones

Curry Leaves - 25

Fenugreek Seeds - 10

Cumin Seeds - 1 teaspoon

Black Pepper - 1 tablespoon

Sambar Powder - 2 tablespoons

Method

First let us prepare the paste using the ingredients given under ' to grind '. Heat a tablespoon of sesame oil, add the cumin seeds, fenugreek seeds and black pepper, saute for half a minute, then add the garlic cloves, chopped onion and curry leaves and saute till the garlic cloves turn golden.

Now add the tomatoes and sambar powder and keep mixing till the tomatoes turn soft, sprinkle some water if the mixture sticks to the pan.

Remove, cool and grind it into a smooth paste, adding a little water if needed. In the meantime, soak the tamarind in about a cup of hot water for about 15 minutes, then extract the juice, strain and keep.

Now heat about 2 1/2 tablespoons of sesame oil, add the urad dal and mustard seeds, when the mustard seeds starts spluttering add the 2 bulbs of peeled garlic, onion and curry leaves and saute till the garlic turns golden. Now add the tamarind extract, turmeric powder and coriander powder.

Add the ground paste, salt and about 2 cups of water, bring it to a boil and then simmer it for about 30 to 40 minutes. Then add the jaggery and simmer for another 5 minutes. Remove, drizzle about 1/2 tablespoon of oil and serve.

NoteUse naatu thakkali ( country tomatoes ).The final consistency of this gravy is thick and the garlic cloves should be soft.Sesame oil is a must for this gravy/kuzhambu, it gives a unique flavor.

I had made ricotta cheese at home for making the Spinach Ricotta Raviolis and I had some left after making the raviolis. I wanted to use it in something within the next few days and I was not ready to make another pasta dish, so while browsing I found these Lemon Ricotta Cookies. There are so many recipes out there, but I followed this one from Food Network, the recipe is from Giada De Laurentiis, when I was in the US, I used to watch her shows regularly. Lemon and ricotta is a beautiful combination, and I made the cookies without eggs, replaced the eggs with corn starch and water. These cookies have a soft texture and they taste delicious with the beautiful lemon glaze on the top..Need To Have

All Purpose Flour - 1/2 cup + 2 tablespoons

Corn Starch - 1/2 tablespoon

Unsalted Butter - 2 tablespoons

Granulated Sugar - 1/2 cup

Ricotta Cheese - 1/2 cup

Lemon Juice - 3/4 tablespoon

Salt - 1/4 teaspoon

Baking Powder - 1/4 teaspoon

Zest of one lemon

For The Glaze

Powdered Sugar - 3 tablespoons

Lemon Juice - 1/2 tablespoon

Method

Melt the butter and mix in the sugar, the sugar granules were really big, so I added a tablespoon of water and warmed it in the microwave, so as to mix the sugar well. Now mix the corn starch in 1 tablespoon of water and add it to the sugar and butter mixture and mix it. Then add the ricotta cheese, lemon juice salt and lemon zest and mix it.

Sift together the flour and baking powder and add it to the wet cheese mixture and mix it. Line a baking tray with parchment paper and spoon out the cookie dough, leaving a little space in between, the cookies would expand a little while baking.

Bake it at 180 C for 20 - 23 minutes, till the edges start turning golden. Leave it to cool for about 20 minutes. Mix together the glaze ingredients and apply it on top of the cookies and let it cool completely, till the glaze hardens, like for about 2 hours.

NoteIn the original recipe, the cookies were baked for only 15 minutes, but I baked it a little longer, still, the cookies were very soft.You can add zest of one lemon to the glaze also, I didn't have it, so I left it out, also the original recipe had used double the amount of sugar in the glaze, but I felt that this was enough.